Waiting...

Waiting outside the Hotel de Paris.

The Most Beautiful Garage Door...

Isn't this old door in La Turbie wonderful? If you open it, you'll find a car inside. It's simply a garage.

There has to be a history to this door and one day I'll find out...

The Stained Glass Shop

Soon after entering the old village of La Turbie, you'll find this pretty old shop, Magie de Vitrail, where you'll find all sorts of stained glass.

Bringing home the Bacon

Bringing home the bacon...or is it the lamb?

Street scene in La Turbie.

The Skating Bird

This sculpture at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat had me laughing out loud. It's such fun.

Looks a bit like a Kiwi bird, doesn't it?

Lady with a Headache

We're in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat looking at one of the sculptures displayed on the esplanade above the port. No mention of the artist or the name of the work which is a pity.

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV - And So To Coffee...

And so to coffee. And petits fours. And macarons. And chocolates. The tiny silver object in the background is a bird - see last photo.

The blue dessert china was designed for Alain Ducasse by the Belgian ceramist, Pieter Stockman who also designed china for the recent wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock - another Alain Ducasse triumph. Alain Ducasse, by the way, was made a citizen of Monaco by Prince Albert in 2008 - a rare honour unless you happen to be one already.

And so it's over. A fabulous lunch and for anyone interested this is a fixed-price menu at 140 euros which includes absolutely everything - wines, coffee and the whole amazing theatrical spectacle of it all, not to mention the to-die-for food. Of course it's not cheap and if you think of starving children in Africa, there is no justification but if you can get beyond that and treat yourself for a special occasion, it's truly excellent value. A three-star Michelin lunch in this beautiful dining room in Monte Carlo will be something you'll never forget.

Of course, once you've been there, you'll have to go back!

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV - After the Cheese

After the fish, along came the cheese.

A beautiful covered trolley arrived with more cheeses than I could count. We each chose three. One of mine was a Roquefort and Lynda chose a different blue cheese. Of course we had to compare and I loved her choice. The attentive and friendly (and handsome!) Maitre 'D wrote down its name - a Fourme l'Ambert which is from the Auvergne region of France. It's far milder than a Roquefort and creamier too.

With it we chose a different bread from the trolley - a wholemeal fig and walnut. Perfect!

On to dessert. In the main photo: Compotée de pommes reinettes, glace à la vanille et pommes sauvages râpées crues.

Stewed Reinette apples, vanilla ice cream and raw slices of wild apples.

In the smaller photo: Fruits d'automne en tartelette friande, glace au lait, fleur de sel.

A delicate tart of autumn fruits, milk ice cream, sea salt.

You can see Lynda couldn't wait to stick her spoon into the milk icecream - me too!

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV - the Red Mullet's Eye

Our main course:

Rougets de roche farci de vert de blette, légumes en bouillabaisse.

Red mullet stuffed with the green part of chard, vegetables in bouillabaisse.

The fish had been totally de-boned and then stuffed - such a beautiful presentation and you need not ask how good it tasted!

Blette (chard - a type of spinach) is regularly used in Mediterranean cooking. Tarte au Blette is sold in all the local markets.

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV - Mirror, Mirror

The mirrored door beside our table reflects a corner of this beautiful restaurant.

In the smaller photo, my friend Lynda's first course:

Fumet de homard breton à peine crémé, fins raviolis de champignons des bois et châtaignes.

Stock of Breton lobster stock with cream, raviolis of wild mushrooms and chestnuts.

Our wine: Domaine du Loou 'Esprit de Blancs' 2010 - a delicious light and fresh Provence white wine from the Var.

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV - a Perfect Risotto

There are three choices of menu at lunch time.

We chose the Club Dejeuner de Saison in which you have a first course, main course and dessert. There are three choices in each.

There is also a cheese course before the dessert and before it all we were served a beautiful presentation of paper-thin vegetables served in a glass with a delicious dip made of olives.

There is a choice of at least 20 breads - this is not just lunch, this is a theatrical spectacle.

My first course.

Risotto à la courge rouge et oignon caramélisé, des côtes de romaine.

Risotto with pumpkin and caramelized onion, Romaine lettuce. I can't begin to tell you how delicious this was!

Tomorrow: Lynda's first course. And the wine.

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV - the Water Cooler

There are two of these silver water coolers on the table - my friend, Lynda, prefers natural water, I always drink bubbles. So we have one each. The wine will arrive shortly.

Note the porcelain and gold salt and pepper dish reflected in the shine of the silver.

I think lunch is going to be good...

Lunch at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV

We're going to lunch at the best restaurant in Monte Carlo!

This is the Louis XV, Alain Ducasse's 3-star Michelin restaurant in the Hotel de Paris on Casino Square.

The windows of this gloriously decorated dining room open onto the square. I wonder if the sculpture in the corner is Madame Pompadour.

So, dress up and I'll see you tomorrow...

Street Scene

This is Monte Carlo's most expensive shopping street, Avenue des Beaux-Arts, where you'll find Dior, Yves St. Laurent, Cartier and so on.

The Parasol

The parasol keeps her cool but that tight bustier can't be comfortable on a hot day. I guess comfort doesn't come into it...

'When the Sculptures Bloom' - the Tortoise

It seems that tortoises, even multi-coloured ones, live in the Exotique Garden.

'When the Sculptures Bloom' - Tango by Phil Berthot

This piece is called Tango and is by the artist Phil Berthot.

'When the Sculptures Bloom' - Art amongst the Cacti

This work shows how beautifully art can be displayed amongst plants and in this case spikey cacti and succulents.

Once again, I don't know the artist - some of the work was displayed without this information.

'When the Sculptures Bloom' - Blake's 'Faith'

This beautiful sculpture stands near to the entrance of the Exotique Gardens and is by the well-known Monaco-based sculptor, Blake.

Do click on the link to see more of Blake's stunning work which comments on our human and spiritual condition. This piece; entitled "Faith" reflects on the loss of spiritual and religious conviction in our modern lives.

Blake is currently preparing a major exhibition of his work in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which runs from the 6 - 27 October 2011 at the Petley Jones Gallery. Click on the link for more details.

'When the Sculptures Bloom' - the Storks

Recently I was invited to the opening of an exhibition at the Exotique Gardens called 'When the Sculptures Bloom.'

Not all the sculptures were marked with the names of the artist so I don't know the name of the sculptor of these storks but they seem wonderfully at home under these exotic trees, don't they?